What better way to review samples than lump them all into one post? I suppose I should disclaim that these are sample sizes and thus, my review is purely based on the one-to-four weeks’ worth of usage only. These are samples that I received: from a product/brand launch, by walking up to the counter and asking, as one of the many goodies from the MyWomenStuff Awards 2011 and via an online Facebook skin profiler.
melissachens Comfort Milk Cleanser
A typical milk cleanser which is great for removing most of your make-up. I always follow up with another cleanser after this anyway and I don’t use milk cleansers in the morning because I prefer a squeakier clean feel. This is very gentle and leaves a thin film of moisture on my skin – great for those with drier skins, but for my oilier skin, I was feeling a tad bit uncomfortable. Only got about 3 uses out of this because the bottle couldn’t dispense the product properly. I remember melissachens being very expensive so I probably wouldn’t repurchase again.
Clinique Facial Soap Mild (Dry-Combination)
My skin likes this! It’s pretty similar to the oily formulation but I can tell that my skin isn’t as stripped when I use this. I still like the oily formulation but I suppose my skin can take this formula too. RM82.00 for 200ml, almost a 10% mark-up from the original price of RM77.00. If I had the budget, I’d repurchase.
Hada Labo Tamagohada AHA/BHA Cleanser
It’s supposed to be a daily exfoliating cleanser without the rough scrubby bits. Not bad, doesn’t foam up too much. Many bloggers have sung praises of this cleanser and I think that this might be one for me to repurchase as well. So far no breakouts and no adverse effects, but I don’t really get the exfoliating part. Maybe my personal preference is to have a hard, granular scrub but hey, I don’t think it’s half bad. After all, it has salicylic acid and alpha hydroxy acid as chemical exfoliants. RM17.90 for 50g and RM31.90 for 130g is quite reasonable too.
Biore Facial Foam Pure Mild Moisture-Balanced Skin
Ruh-roh. This one gave me the clogs almost immediately. I think I got the wrong formula (dang Facebook skin profiler). It’s OK but not impressive. I like that Biore is priced very reasonably and I think overall, their range is decent. If I got a different formula, I might be singing praises right now. I reckon this one is better for drier skins, not combo-oily skins like mine. Though my skin can be temperamental though – one moment it’s normal-oily, next it’s an oil slick and what not. Not too sure of the price, but this is available literally everywhere.
I still have the Biore and Clinique one with me so I’ll be using them (and the rest of my existing skincare) till I have none left. Shopping ban is still on! 😉
belle de moiselle 
I haven’t used Clinique since the price went up, but a little goes a long way, so a full sized bottle lasts a long while (took me about a year(?) to finish)…
The Biore sample I have too, but have yet to use.